The Constitution does not ban United States soldiers from providing technical assistance to Philippine troops in the ongoing battle against the Maute Group in Marawi City, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said yesterday.

The administration of presumptive president Rodrigo R. Duterte does not consider China as an enemy but has vowed to push national interest in the issue on the territorial dispute in the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea, said new National Security Adviser former Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes C. Esperon Jr. yesterday